Thursday, October 4, 2007

Lesson 27: Did my father murder Rizwanur Rehman?

Dear Papa, hope you don't misunderstand this, if and when you do read this.

I had always thought it was Papa's 'over-protectiveness' that made him dislike the idea of me talking or befriending any boy. I say 'boy' because the first memories of Papa reacting adversely to any male company around me goes back 20 years...

I was 9-years-old and the said boy was 12. We were stationed at Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), one of the cities where any Ordinance officer will spend a considerable part of his tenure. This boy was a visiting relative of one of our neighbours. He was about two inches taller than me, had nearly blonde hair (called it 'English' hair back then) and very, very red lips. So he would play with us and we became playground friends. Till the day he pecked me on the cheek for some reason and there was "scandal" amongst the kids. I promptly reported the transgression to the Aunty whose house he was staying in; who in turn 'apologised' to my mother. That should have been that, only that Papa decided to have a mini-talk with me (over the years the length of those chats grew, much to my alarm).

The only thing Papa said was, "You stay away from that boy, he is not a good boy. All these Punjabi boys." After that I stayed away from 'Punjabi' boys for a long time. Till Papa found that one of my closest friends was a Tamil boy. Then he said, "All these Tamil boys..." and then it was "All these Jat boys..." and 'Nepalis', 'Sardars' and 'Christians' and so on and so forth. Towards the fag end of adolescence I realised that Papa perhaps just did not like boys. Or boys who were my friends.

It was confirmed when I heard him telling Ma, "Ei je mein, ekta jhola-pora Marxist dhore aan be... nahole tattoo-kora Panjabi ke" (This girl will either get us a jhola-clad Marxist or a tattooed Punjabi boy) When I was getting close-to-marriageable, Ma said, very concerned, "Whatever you do, don't bring us a Christian, Muslim or Sikh." I pointed out that given Papa's restrictions and now hers added to it, there wouldn't be any/ many men left to marry. I had suggested a Nigerian and a horrified mother had said, "Bachcha gulo koto kaalo hobe". (The kids will be so dark). Funny because I am bloody dark-skinned too. Back then, it was a joke.

My father also had a gun (two actually, licensed) and would often say that if I got him a "bugger" he didn't like, he would use it freely. Papa never used that gun (or perhaps I was smarter). But many fathers do use their guns. Or hire thugs and policemen to yield their guns. They kill Jat-sikh boys for marrying a 'Pappa-Sikh' girl -- I still don't know the difference but three years in Amritsar taught me there was 'some' difference. Or a newly-wed couple because one of them is a 'Dalit'. Or a Muslim, Calcutta-based graphic designer called Rizwanur because he married a girl called Priyanka, Hindu.

Sometimes these MURDERS are called mob violence. Sometimes Panchayat justice. Sometimes they are labelled honour killings. It is supposedly honourable to slaughter your child. Wah. Sometimes -- like in the case of Rizwanur Rehman -- the Police Commissioner (Calcutta) calls it a suicide. It is not about the poor. The more money you have, the more you seem concerned about HOW you appear to society. The more you have to protect your 'honour'.

It is not even about people falling in love. It is about Hate. You just hate if someone wears a patka, or a skull-cap or a janeyu. We hate the "spineless and loud" Bengalis. We hate the "crude" Jats. We hate the "dosa-loving Mallus". We hate the "converting" Christians. We hate the "bloody uncouth" Biharis. We hate the "stingy-stinky" Maharashtrians. Wherever we can find ANY reason, we hate. And we murder.

And the lawmen of this country, the protectors', they commit these murders. Sometimes the police reach the site late. Sometimes they don't find witnesses. Sometimes they drag people behind their motorcycles. Sometimes they watch many being massacred. And in Rizwanur's case, it seems the policemen, the bloody protectors, are the murderers. WHY? Because a poor boy loved a rich girl... or a Muslim boy loved a Hindu girl?

Our attitudes are so clear. Team India whopped Team Pakistan in the T20 series. I got two messages on my cellphone. One read, "Chak de India, **** de Pakistan" and the other... The other commented on certain anatomically missing parts and how "we" took care of the rest. Wonder what Zahir Khan and the Pathan brothers have to say about it or if they are lesser players for missing anatomy.

And yet, no posts will bring Rizwanur back.

_________________________________________

Praanadhika from Elaan sent me this --- ALL those in Calcutta or those who know people in Calcutta, please inform, PLEASE join. It's not about religion. It's about MURDERING someone who had as much right to life as you and me. Whether Hindu or Muslim.

We believe that Justice is a Constitutional right for every living being, regardless of nationality, caste, religion etc. What happened with Rizwanur Rehman and the circumstances that surrounded his untimely death have raised both hackles and questions. We want answers, fair and just ones. We don't care about the politics behind it, we don't care about the big guns with their (bigger) mouths.. we care about what matters at the endof the day - Human Dignity. However, since violence and war only lead to more of the same, we have chosen to join hands with some fellow crusaders outside St. Xaviers College, Park Street as part of a silent and peaceful candlelight vigil in Rizwanur's memory.The Elaan supported vigil will be held from 6AM to Midnight on Wednesday October 10th outside St.Xavier's College. Many of you might have read about the candlelight vigil in the papers or seen photographs of it in the papers. It is part of a 100 day protest for justice and it would mean a lot to the people of this city if you could devote just 2 hours of your time to it. If you are interested in being a part of the Justice for Rizwanur Campaign, please email - elaanspeak@yahoo.co.in / mansi@trisyscom.com

PS: My househelp and companion is a Muslim. The other day, while oiling my hair, she said, "Didi, some Hindus in our colony had a fight with some Muslim boys. The Hindu boys threw bottles in my house. I am scared." She works very hard, pays a huge rent because she does not want to stay in a jhuggi (slum/ghetto) and wants to send her 6-year-old son to college someday. The 'fight' took place somewhere near Connaught Place. We live near Vasant Kunj. So WHY her house?I am scared too. ---- J Bo

Rizwanur case... its saddening. Never read about it anywhere before this. I have asked my Kolkata friend living here to pass on the message on candlenight vigil.

This also led me thinking, the situation (interracial, hindu-muslim in particualr, relationship) is so bad or umm...convoluted that in case either of the one (or even both) passes away due to natural consequences, it will be looked upon as the act of murder/mob violence/honour killing etc. hmm...

this thing~ tHe religious hate's gona stay, v ll have to live with it. an whenever a rich, powerful bloke gonna be burstin, whenever his/her EGO will be hurt, a murder will take place.

We can be united and get the person in rage behind bars but the fact remains that rich will dominate.

Whenever they will be hurt, emotionally... they will kill!!-----------------------------I don’t mean to hurt anyone, nor do I mean to say that we should not follow our heart, But the fact remains that Hindu Muslim; they are both very different in their thoughts, culture, and living style!!

ppl will have to come out of their shell's. They will have to shed away their orthodox mentality. Only then we will see an end to this saga.

Honour killing! these are murders... what honour is left when you murder someone. The sad part is that in a lot of such cases, the local authorities including the police support these criminals in the name of the community. Disgusting

Rizwanur was educated.There is no example where such kind of marriage did not create problem.So he married knowing everything.His earlier affair ended because of money matter ( as said by his earlier fiance ).So Rizwanur chose a girl from a millionair as his pray.He had money in his mind.He hid everything knowingly.So, those who are saying that Mr. Todi or police has caused his death, it is WRONG.He might not have commited suicide but he might have been crossing the track while keying some sms or talking over phone. So the actual culprit is the MOBILE PHONE.Why should not police interfare ? In case of problem ultimately both the parties will go to the police.Then why the fucking media is playing with it ? Let law find it out ?If it would have been a hindu boy marrying a muslim girl, his body would not have been traced at all!!! No shit celeb or NGO would have cried and shed crocodile tear!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a US return back to India for the past two years. I have 3 kids two of them 8 yrs old and one born after we came back here. I live in Coimbatore. The following people, apart from some among my relatives, were murdered by the same person or group of people. Rehman Baig (my cousins brother in law) murdered as an accident by lorry,Fazlur rehman ,a married person muredered as a strage pickpocket incident, Baig a student from Aligarh muslim univ and this person, Rizwan ur rahman. These murders are from the same person who has an old time affair with my wife and is using murders to torture me in order to make me leave her so that my kids will go to him, the problems started when we were living back in the US when goondas started harassing me. i left there and came over here to save my family and here these murders were pre planned to torture me. For those who can take a clue from the names there are two situations that I am schizophrenic (as some think and she tryies to protray) and seeing or relating things or the the devil is so fearful that he kills and chooses to kill with related names in different innovative ways. one a lorry accident, another a gruesome stabbing that looked like a pickpocket incident, the other one an intelligent student killed like being in a wrong place in the wrong time. and this one for marrying a hindu girl. The problem here is she actually wants to leave and go to him but is pushing me for divorce so that it will be like i am divorcing and i loose the kids. These things are pre planned and hapenning from the time we arrived from US and I am staying at home and have left my career and job and staying with my family. She was pregnant went the harassement started in the US and wanted to seperate with that pregnancy, that was aborted and we all came over to india thinking we will live away she then again became pregnant still with the intention of leaving me and this kid is born now and then all the killings started to push me out. I went to a suicide and was unconsciuos few days and barely survived I am unable to take the torture of either leaving my kids and forgetting them or losing peoples lives. I cannot explain how it feels to look at my kids faces knowing that somebody is killing for them and one they will be gone and I am just living a painful life that will anyway end. I cannot imagine someone who wants to go back to her long time lover will even forcibly have a new born kid from me and want to seperate from me, after the harassement started she was already pregnant and did not tell me and wanted to seperate quickly with the unborn baby next after we returned to india she deceived and i too thought who will want to have another kid from me if she is really not going to live i thought atleast that will make her leive away with me and save the family but the wickedness knows no bounds, is this about somebody who cannot father kids and wanting to take from my family or is is even more sinister that it is some narrow mined religeous wicked and destructive plan to destroy a family and purposely take kids and raise them in the same narrow minded killer kind to come back and haunt me and other with my own kids, could be this too since the affair is older than our marriage and all along it has been torment and torture to push me out. I am caught with a psychopath paired with a vicious and wicked killer waiting to take my kids. i cannot put every thing in a blog I do not want to reveal my name or identity for obvious reasons that it will serve the purpose and lead to divorce and loose my kids and other reason is i still think we will live away but iam not going to end myself if i ever loose my kids. i live in coimbatore, we was in the US for 10 yrs, worked in Oracle corp as s/w engr. i have three kids two 8 yrs old born in america and one born here now. if i were to ever commit suicide again and kill myself then the people doing these murders are those to whom she goes to.

I am a US return back to India for the past two years. I have 3 kids two of them 8 yrs old and one born after we came back here. I live in Coimbatore. The following people, apart from some among my relatives, were murdered by the same person or group of people. Rehman Baig (my cousins brother in law) murdered as an accident by lorry,Fazlur rehman ,a married person muredered as a strage pickpocket incident, Baig a student from Aligarh muslim univ and this person, Rizwan ur rahman. These murders are from the same person who has an old time affair with my wife and is using murders to torture me in order to make me leave her so that my kids will go to him, the problems started when we were living back in the US when goondas started harassing me. i left there and came over here to save my family and here these murders were pre planned to torture me. For those who can take a clue from the names there are two situations that I am schizophrenic (as some think and she tryies to protray) and seeing or relating things or the the devil is so fearful that he kills and chooses to kill with related names in different innovative ways. one a lorry accident, another a gruesome stabbing that looked like a pickpocket incident, the other one an intelligent student killed like being in a wrong place in the wrong time. and this one for marrying a hindu girl. The problem here is she actually wants to leave and go to him but is pushing me for divorce so that it will be like i am divorcing and i loose the kids. These things are pre planned and hapenning from the time we arrived from US and I am staying at home and have left my career and job and staying with my family. She was pregnant went the harassement started in the US and wanted to seperate with that pregnancy, that was aborted and we all came over to india thinking we will live away she then again became pregnant still with the intention of leaving me and this kid is born now and then all the killings started to push me out. I went to a suicide and was unconsciuos few days and barely survived I am unable to take the torture of either leaving my kids and forgetting them or losing peoples lives. I cannot explain how it feels to look at my kids faces knowing that somebody is killing for them and one they will be gone and I am just living a painful life that will anyway end. I cannot imagine someone who wants to go back to her long time lover will even forcibly have a new born kid from me and want to seperate from me, after the harassement started she was already pregnant and did not tell me and wanted to seperate quickly with the unborn baby next after we returned to india she deceived and i too thought who will want to have another kid from me if she is really not going to live i thought atleast that will make her leive away with me and save the family but the wickedness knows no bounds, is this about somebody who cannot father kids and wanting to take from my family or is is even more sinister that it is some narrow mined religeous wicked and destructive plan to destroy a family and purposely take kids and raise them in the same narrow minded killer kind to come back and haunt me and other with my own kids, could be this too since the affair is older than our marriage and all along it has been torment and torture to push me out. I am caught with a psychopath paired with a vicious and wicked killer waiting to take my kids. i cannot put every thing in a blog I do not want to reveal my name or identity for obvious reasons that it will serve the purpose and lead to divorce and loose my kids and other reason is i still think we will live away but iam not going to end myself if i ever loose my kids. i live in coimbatore, we was in the US for 10 yrs, worked in Oracle corp as s/w engr. i have three kids two 8 yrs old born in america and one born here now. if i were to ever commit suicide again and kill myself then the people doing these murders are those to whom she goes to.

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